Firefighter Charged With Stealing $125K From 95-Year-Old

Published at 4:51 AM EST on Dec 15, 2015

New Haven Firefighter Arrested

41 year old Kenneth Burgos is accused of stealing about 125-Thousand dollars from a 95 year old woman who he met when he responded to a medical emergency she was having. (Published Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015)

A New Haven firefighter has been arrested after investigators found he stole about $125,000 from a 95-year-old woman, police said.

Kenneth Burgos of New Haven has been charged with first degree larceny and tampering with a witness.

“This type of crime is particularly upsetting," Assistant Chief of Detectives Achilles Generoso said. "When someone abuses their authority to take advantage of someone so vulnerable, we are all shaken."

The victim contacted police in September when she realized that several thousand dollars had been missing from her bank accounts. The investigation found that money had been stolen from the woman since 2013 according to bank records for four separate financial institutions. Accounts showed suspicious withdrawals over the last three years.

The missing money became clearer when firefighters showed up at the victim's house for a medical call a few months back, a New Haven police statement read. The victim told the New Haven firefighters that she had befriended one of their colleagues, Burgos, and that he was her power of attorney.

After the medical call, firefighters notified police and the 17-year department veteran was placed on paid administrative leave. On Monday, Burgos was arrested.

James Kottage, the president of the New Haven Fire Union called Burgos' actions "disgusting."